Surveillance organization GCHQ, the Cabinet Office and the
National Crime Agency (NCA) –Britain’s version of the FBI – are
just some of the government agencies involved.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its US equivalent the US
Department of Defense (DoD) will be sponsoring the event, as will
Central Volunteer Headquarters (CVHQ), a secretive military
reserve unit drawn from across the armed forces and charged with
cyber security.

Private defense companies like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin,
Raytheon, Airbus and Qiniteq have also thrown their weight behind
the event.

The Challenge website says it was established “to bolster the
national pool of cyber skills.”

“It offers a unique program of activities to introduce
sufficient numbers of appropriately skilled individuals to
learning and career opportunities in the profession.”

The patron of Cyber Security Challenge UK, said “Cyberspace
is woven into the fabric of our society; it is integral to our
economy, our communities and our security.

“Defending all of our interests in cyberspace is a relatively
small cadre of talented and highly-skilled public sector and
private sector cyber security professionals. This pool of
professionals must grow and the Cyber Security Challenge UK
offers an innovative and exciting way of attracting talented
individuals to take up rewarding careers in this field,”
Baroness Neville-Jones said.